Presidential republic
Official:
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Local name:
ශ්රී ලංකා / இலங்கை
Region:
South Asia
Surface area:
65,610 km²
Capital:
Colombo
Geography
Sri Lanka is an island state in the Indian Ocean about 60 km from the Indian mainland. The land has a total area of 65,610 km² (25,332 mi²) and a total coastline of 1,340 km (832.6 mi). This land area is approximately 82% of the area of Maine. Sri Lanka is thus the 17th smallest country in Asia and ranked 123rd in the world. A considerable share of the inhabitants (81%) belongs to the rural population.
Sri Lanka is comparatively low at an average elevation of 228 meters above sea level. The highest mountain peak (Pidurutalagala) is at 2,524 meters. In addition to the main island, around 80 other small islands still belong to the country. India ist the only directly neighboring country of Sri Lanka. The distance between New York City and the Capital Colombo is about 14,100 km (8,761 mi).
On further pages:
Current time in Sri Lanka:
00:00
January 2024
The countrywide time in Sri Lanka is Sri Lanka Time (SLT), which is currently 10.5 hours ahead of New York.
As in many countries, there is no daylight savings time in Sri Lanka.
Related to Greenwich Mean Time, there's the same difference of 5.5 hours all over the year.
Population
Population:22,181,000
Population per km²:338.1
Life expectancy males:Ø 73.1 years
Life expectancy females:
Ø 79.5 years
Birth rate:
14.0 ‰
Death rate:
7.4 ‰
Males/Females:
48.2% : 51.8%
Population pyramid
The currency in Sri Lanka is the Sri Lanka rupee (LKR).
1 Rupee is divided into 100 Cents.
Status: 01/12/2024
1 US dollar = 322.61 Rupees
1000 Rupees = 3.10 US dollar
Climate in Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, as in all equatorial countries, there is a tropical climate. Unlike in Europe or the USA, there is almost no difference between the seasons. The daylight hours vary little, and the temperature differences between summer and winter are also lower. Depending on the season, the average daytime temperatures range between 26 and 29 degrees. In some parts of the country, the temperature rises to 36 °C. In the colder months, and depending in the region, the temperature drops to 18 °C in a month's average.
Average daytime and nighttime temperatures
Languages
Official languages:
Sinhala, Tamil
| Mother tongue | Distribution |
|---|---|
| Sinhala | 74.0 % |
| Tamil | 18.0 % |
| other | 8.0 % |
Religions
State religion:
Theravada Buddhism
| Religion | Distribution |
|---|---|
| Buddhists | 70.2% |
| Roman Catholics | 6.1% |
| other Christs | 1.3% |
| Hinduists | 12.6% |
| Muslims | 9.7% |
| other | 0.1% |
Economy
| GDP: | 74.40 bn $ |
| Exportations: | 16,168.8 M $ |
| Importations: | 21,526.0 M $ |
| › Tourism receipts: | 615.00 M $ |
| Debt rate: | 117.66 % |
| › Unemployment rate: | 6.71 % |
| › Inflation rate: | 49.72 % |
| › Corruption index: | 36 (bad) |
| › Energy consumption: | 14.0 bn kWh |
According to the definition from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Sri Lanka is a developing country because of its lower economic performance.
With an average annual income of 3,610 USD Sri Lanka is one of the lower middle-income countries.
Land use
| 6% Urban areas: | 4,016 km² |
| 44% Agricultural areas: | 28,665 km² |
| 34% Forest: | 22,412 km² |
| 4% Water areas: | 2,900 km² |
| 16% Others: | 10,516 km² |
Transport
| Roadways: | 114,093 km |
| Railways: | 1,562 km |
| Waterways: | 160 km |
| Reg. vehicles: | 3,427,150 |
| › Airports: |
Most important cities
Population refers to the city proper, not metropolitan areas.
| City | Region | Population |
|---|---|---|
| Colombo / Capital | Western | 753,000 |
| Galkissa | Western | 216,000 |
| Moratuwa | Western | 178,000 |
| Jaffna | Northern Province | 169,000 |
| Negombo | Western | 122,000 |
| Pita Kotte | Western | 118,000 |
| Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte | Western | 116,000 |
| Kandy | Central | 109,000 |
| Trincomalee | Eastern Province | 108,000 |
| Kalmunai | Eastern Province | 100,000 |
| Galle | Southern | 93,000 |
| Point Pedro | Northern Province | 90,000 |
| Batticaloa | Eastern Province | 87,000 |
| Valvedditturai | Northern Province | 78,000 |
| Matara | Southern | 76,000 |
| Dambulla | Central | 67,000 |
| Anuradhapura | North Central | 61,000 |
| Vavuniya | Northern Province | 60,000 |
| Ratnapura | Sabaragamuwa | 48,000 |
| Badulla | Uva | 48,000 |
| Puttalam | North Western | 46,000 |
| Kurunegala | North Western | 29,000 |
Political indicators
(Based on the "Worldwide Governance Indicators" project of the World Bank)
| Political stability: | ◈ |
| Rule of law: | ◈ |
| Effectivity: | ◈ |
| Regulatory quality: | ◈ |
| Voice accountability: | ◈ |
| Democratic values: | ◈ |
| Death penalty: | not practiced for 10+ years |
Existing trade agreements
Alliances
India: country data and statisticsIndia in numbers: demographics, economy, energy, climate and more data and comparisons with other countries.
List of 152 developing countriesList of all 152 developing countries with below-average living standards
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